SPRINGFIELD — Most of the free tickets for the Massachusetts Senate race debate to take place in Springfield on Oct. 10 were gone within minutes on Friday, although at least one option remains for those who are determined to see Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown and Democrat Elizabeth Warren square off in person.

While many of the media consortium partners distributed tickets on a first-come, first-serve basis, the Daily Hampshire Gazette in Northampton is still accepting email requests to get in on a lottery-style distribution of the tickets.

According to Laurie Loisel, an editor with the Gazette, people interested in potentially getting their hands on tickets can send an email with their contact information to newsroom@gazettenet.com with the word "DEBATE" in the subject line through next Wednesday. The drawing will be held on Sept. 21.

At The Republican newspaper's offices on Main Street in Springfield, it took about 30 minutes for the 200 tickets allotted to fly out the door.

"We opened the door at 8:30 a.m. and they trickled in steadily until they were all gone around 9 a.m.," said accounting department employee Laura Lasorsa. "Everyone took the four tickets allowed except for one man who said he only needed two. And one woman tried to come trough the line twice, but she ended up being honest."

Employee Enza Valenti, who distributed the tickets with Lasorsa, said the eager attendees all had "a great attitude," and seemed interested in being a part of the political process.

Once the tickets were gone, however, some of those attitudes weren't so positive.

"What the hell is wrong with them? With only one debate in Western Massachusetts they should have had it at a bigger place," said one woman from Holyoke who refused to give her name. "I had to drive here from Holyoke and now they are all gone? This is unbelievable."

D. John McCarthy, a Republican running to be a state representative in the 12th Hampden District, said he was interested in attending to learn a thing or two from Brown and Warren.

"I've already made up my mind about who to vote for as I've been handing out Scott Brown literature with my own when I go door to door," McCarthy said. "But quite honestly, I wanted to study their debate style and pick up some pointers for my own debate."

One woman arrived while a reporter was interviewing a Massachusetts State Lottery winner outside the newspaper's offices.

Spotting the man holding a small slip of paper, the woman called out: "Did you get the last ticket to the forum?"

"No," the man replied. "I won the lottery."

"Well, I guess that's better than seeing a debate," the woman said.

Just like at The Republican, other ticket distribution sites in the area saw their tickets go quickly, as was the case at the Economic Development Council of Western Massachusetts.

"We saw lines out the door at 8 a.m. before we opened and were able to distribute the tickets," said Allan W. Blair, CEO of the EDC. "The tickets went fast, which to me shows significant interest in the Senate race."

At WGGB-TV's offices in Springfield, news director Jim Tortora said that many of those who showed up said they learned about the ticket availability because they were on campaign mailing lists.

Brown's campaign website had a link with detailed information about where to get tickets, while the information wasn't easily seen on Warren's website.

Warren's campaign did however send out a message to supporters earlier this week encouraging them to grab some tickets and attend the debate.

When asked to respond to the overwhelming demand for tickets to the Springfield debate, Brown's press secretary Alleigh Marre said "As a Harvard law professor and someone who went to college on a debate scholarship, Elizabeth Warren is a professional lecturer and expert arguer. But her ideas are out of the mainstream."

Marre went on to boast the Democratic support Brown has received, including an endorsement from former Springfield Mayor Charlie Ryan.

Warren said she was looking forward to the debate and highlighting the differences between her and Brown.

"I'm excited for the debate in Springfield and looking forward to talking with the people of Western Massachusetts about the issues affecting this region. The people of Springfield and Western Mass. deserve the chance to hear directly from the candidates," Warren said in a statement. "There are clear differences here - Scott Brown has voted with Wall Street, big oil and billionaires. I've worked for years to make sure small businesses and working families are treated fairly. Western Mass deserves a senator who will stand with them all of the time."

According to Page Brody, executive director of the Springfield Public Forum and organizer of the media consortium, there are additional tickets available although they hoped to distribute them to local schools and other organizations to ensure as many average people as possible have a chance to hear from the candidates live in person. She said, however, that the group is deciding how to move forward from here and that more tickets may be made available to the general public.

The Springfield event, which will be held at Symphony Hall is the only Senate race debate being held outside of eastern Massachusetts this election season.

It will take place on Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast live on several media outlets, including CBS-3 Springfield, ABC-40/Fox6, and on WFCR 88.5 FM, to name a few.

In addition to the Springfield debate, Brown and Warren will take part in three other televised debates and one radio debate.

The TV debates include one hosted by WBZ-TV, Channel 4, the Boston CBS affiliate, on Sept. 20; another hosted by the University of Massachusetts-Lowell on Oct. 1; and a Boston media consortium debate to be held on Oct. 30.

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